Skip to main content

A £250,000 Outdoor Tub?

A warning to anyone considering a £250,000 Bentley that lets water in, and a record of the evidence for journalists: owners' reports, specialist warnings and Bentley's own bulletins.

Buying a Bentley?Press and media

Bentley Let The Rain In...

Owners of Bentley Continental GTs and Flying Spurs describe rainwater getting into their cars. On older cars it is usually blocked drains under the windscreen. On cars built from 2018, Bentley's own technical bulletins name factory faults that let water into the cabin. The motoring press warns buyers that the worst case costs more than £15,000.

7

public forum threads on water getting in

2

models: Continental Flying Spur and Continental GT

8

Bentley technical bulletins on water in the cabin or a musty smell

£15,000+

worst-case repair quoted by PistonHeads, Prestige & Performance Car and Autocar

What specialists and Bentley say

Autocar

On the Continental Flying Spur, a blocked windscreen scuttle can let water through the fuse box seal and soak the keyless entry control unit in the footwell.

Read the source

PMC, UK Bentley specialist

The plenum drains tend to get choked with leaf matter, particularly on cars parked near trees.

Read the source

Prestige & Performance Car

On early Continental GTs, a void in the scuttle fills with water if the drain blocks and runs into the front left footwell, home to much of the wiring loom and several ECUs. Putting it right can cost over £15,000.

Read the source

Bentley technical bulletins

Tell dealers how to deal with water in the cabin of Continental GT and Flying Spur cars built from 2018. One, covering every model from 2004 to 2024, tells technicians to check the body drains for blockages.

See the bulletins
See the full evidence library

The cars in the reports

Continental Flying Spurs and Continental GTs from 2005 to 2021 are sold and resold all over the world. The reports we found come from owners posting on British and American forums. These photographs show example cars, not the cars in the reports.

Dark blue 2006 Bentley Continental Flying Spur parked on grass

Continental Flying Spur

First generation, 2005 to 2013

Photographed in the UKPhoto: MrWalkr, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped), CC BY-SA 4.0
Black Bentley Continental GT on a wet city street

Continental GT

Second generation, 2011 to 2018

Photographed in RomaniaPhoto: Alex Ifti, Unsplash, Unsplash Licence
Green Bentley Flying Spur parked on a street covered in autumn leaves

Flying Spur

Third generation, 2019 on

Photographed in the NetherlandsPhoto: Haberdoedas, Unsplash, Unsplash Licence
Dark blue Bentley Continental GT parked on a tree-lined street

Continental GT

Third generation, 2018 on

Photographed in IndiaPhoto: Mohit Hambiria, Pexels, Pexels Licence
“Water is not draining away through the drains and is just filling up in the plenum area under the screen and entering the car through the HVAC seals which has caused the saturation inside the car.”
Service Department, H.R. Owen

1 of 15

Seemingly Known Design Flaw

Many Bentley owners have taken to online discussions to try and help them resolve issues of water ingress into their cars. Click the links below to explore the subject in some of the many online forums we found:

Who answers for Bentley

Bentley Motors is owned by Volkswagen AG. Volkswagen’s Board of Management runs the group, and Bentley sits in its Progressive brand group, led by Dr. Gernot Döllner, who also chairs the board of Bentley Motors Ltd. These eight people have the authority to deal with rainwater getting into Bentleys.

What Bentley already has in front of it

  • Its own technical bulletins tell dealers how to repair water in the front footwells of Continental GT and Flying Spur cars.

    See the bulletins

  • Owners describe rainwater getting into Flying Spurs and Continental GTs on public forums in Britain and the US.

    Read the threads

  • Lawyers for this site’s owner wrote to Bentley Motors about one Flying Spur. Bentley did not put it right.

    Read the case

Volkswagen AG Board of Management

Dr. Gernot Döllner
Dr. Gernot DöllnerProgressive brand group (Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Ducati). Chair of Bentley Motors Ltd.
Dr. Oliver Blume
Dr. Oliver BlumeChair of the Board of Management
Dr. Arno Antlitz
Dr. Arno AntlitzFinance and Operations
Dr. Manfred Döss
Dr. Manfred DössIntegrity and Legal Affairs
Thomas Schäfer
Thomas SchäferCore brand group and Human Resources
Thomas Schmall-von Westerholt
Thomas Schmall-von WesterholtTechnology
Ralf Brandstätter
Ralf BrandstätterChina
Hauke Stars
Hauke StarsIT
Contact details on volkswagen-group.com

Names and responsibilities from the Volkswagen Group Annual Report 2025 and volkswagen-group.com.

When other carmakers let the rain in

Water getting into cars through blocked or faulty drains is not new. Other manufacturers in the same group, and outside it, have paid out or recalled cars over it.

$8m

Volkswagen and Audi settle over blocked drains

Dewey v. Volkswagen, US federal court, New Jersey. Final approval 30 July 2010.

Owners said sunroof, plenum and pollen-filter drains let water in and damage interiors and electrics, on cars including the 1997 to 2009 Audi A8. The settlement set up an $8 million reimbursement fund, modified drains on some models and added plenum and sunroof drain cleaning to the maintenance schedule every 40,000 miles or two years.

234,057

Audi recalls Q5s over a sunroof drain

US safety recall 17V-001, February 2017. Audi Q5, 2011 to 2017.

Audi recalled the cars because an impaired panoramic sunroof drain could let water reach and corrode the side curtain airbag inflators.

6,331

Mercedes-Benz recalls SUVs over a drain hose

US safety recall 21V-288, May 2021. Mercedes-Benz GLE and GLS.

Air-conditioning drain hoses could let condensation into the front footwells, where it could corrode electrical parts and cause a short circuit, raising the risk of fire.

We have not found a recall for water getting into the cabin of these Bentleys. Bentley’s own bulletins tell dealers how to repair it.

See the bulletins
Jack Barclay
Bentley
H.R. Owen

One owner's case

How the same failure played out on our own Flying Spur, and how the dealer and Bentley responded.

The Bentley above was purchased from Jack Barclay, part of H.R. Owen. It was cherished, serviced by Bentley, and driven just 37,000 miles from new – until it died.

We returned from summer vacation to find that the car had soaking wet carpets and would not start, despite having been safely parked with doors, windows and sunroof properly locked and alarmed.

H.R. Owen said rainwater had severely damaged the car and it would be very costly to repair. Astonished, we looked online and found many other Bentley owners reporting that their cars had also been damaged by rain - see the owners' quotes and forum threads above.

When we pointed out to H.R. Owen that this seemed to be a well known design flaw, as evidenced by the comments on the multiple public forums listed above, they did not seem at all surprised.

The Gory Details

From H.R. Owen's engineer's report:

I checked the body drains under the windscreen and found water is not draining away through the drains and is just filling up in the plenum area under the screen and entering the car through the HVAC seals which has caused the saturation inside the car.

I have gained access to the KESSY module which is the alarm and immobiliser on the car. This module is sitting completely covered by water, the water has entered the module and completely corroded the modules circuits. Some of the terminals in the wiring to the module are also corroded. I have gained access to some connectors called CAN headers in the rear footwell. These are also heavily corroded by the sitting water.

The first thing we need to do to this car is completely remove the front seats and remove the saturated front and rear carpets and dry them out. We then need to check any other wiring and modules that are sitting in the water and make sure they are not water damaged. We then need to replace the KESSY module, replace the damaged CAN headers and renew the corroded wiring. Then code the new KESSY module to the car and align the keys, recharge the batteries then see if we can get the car to run.

If the car does not run we will then have to check for any further damage that may have been caused by the water. If the car does run we will then have to completely remove the dashboard from the car then completely remove the HVAC unit from the car to gain access to the blocked drains and clean them out completely along with the plenum area. Once clean replace the seals on the HVAC, clean the sunroof drains then refit the dashboard to the car then carry out a full functional check and road test of the car.

Seeking Justice

We contacted Jack Barclay to say it was unacceptable to sell us a car without warning us that the car could not be left out in the rain. We pointed out that Bentley had also failed to warn us each time they serviced the car. We suggested they should cover the repair cost. They flatly refused and asked us to take the car away:

“We kindly request that you advise us of your intention regarding collection. As your Bentley was recovered, and therefore not currently in a driveable state, we can look into transportation options for you if this would help.”
Jack Barclay

The Customer Is Always Wrong

Despite letters from our lawyers, neither Jack Barclay nor H.R. Owen nor Bentley Motors was willing to do the right thing. So we must revert to the court of public opinion. If you feel this injustice as keenly as we do, or simply want to know how one of the world’s largest car makers could allow this, we invite you to contact members of the Management Board of Volkswagen AG.

Consumer Protection

Here’s a summary of the relevant protections under UK law which we must now rely upon:

The Consumer Rights Act 2015

The consumer rights act is particularly relevant in this case. It states that goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for a particular purpose, and as described. If a dealer sells a car with an undisclosed design flaw, it may not be of satisfactory quality or as described.

The car is not of satisfactory quality if it has a design flaw. Furthermore, the car is not as described if the seller has not disclosed the flaw. A customer who purchases such a car has the right to a repair, replacement, or possibly a partial or full refund, depending on the circumstances.

Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

Additionally, under the Consumer Protection regulations (in force when we bought the car), it is considered an unfair practice to omit material information, such as a design flaw, which the average consumer needs to make an informed decision. Withholding material information may itself be an unfair practice.

Further Information

After many months of trying and failing to get satisfaction from H.R. Owen we decided to share this story as a caution to others who may be considering buying one of these cars.

You can follow the links above to explore online forums where other unfortunate Bentley owners discuss this same design flaw.

If you would like more details on the facts of this matter please email

Bentleytub@gmail.com

Take action

If you own a Flying Spur, or are thinking of buying one, these steps put the issue on record where it counts.

Report it to Bentley

Official guidance is to report a suspected safety defect to the manufacturer first. Bentley's UK owner enquiries line is +44 (0)1270 653 653.

Bentley's contact page

Tell the DVSA if the response falls short

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency investigates serious safety defects with the manufacturer when owners are not happy with how a report was handled. Its definition covers faults in how a vehicle is designed that happen suddenly and without warning.

Report a serious safety defect

In the US, report it to NHTSA

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration collects owner reports of vehicle safety problems.

Report a safety problem

Share your story with us

Every case you share helps show whether this really is an isolated failure.

Tell us what happened

Share this page

EmailXFacebookWhatsApp

Has this happened to your Bentley?

If rainwater has got into your Bentley, tell us what happened. We read every story. With your permission, we may publish it here, without your contact details, to help show buyers and Bentley how many owners are affected.

Right of reply

Bentley Motors, H.R. Owen and Jack Barclay are welcome to respond to anything on this site. We will publish any reply we receive here, in full.

If any fact on this site is wrong, tell us and we will correct it.

Bentleytub@gmail.com